Friday, January 31, 2014

Here's a guest post from Kimberly Nelson, an animal rescuer and fundraiser. After she adopted her dog, Rolo from the local shelter in Fort McMurry, she did a Christmas fundraiser. In 2013 she asked friends, family, and the community to help her out. Here is her tale of success.

Today is my 26th Birthday and what better way of sharing my special day then
sharing the total for Our Christmas FMSPCA Fundraiser of 2013. Why do I love
Fort McMurray.. Well look below!First off I want to give a Big Thank YOU to all of the people who
contributed to our Christmas Fundraiser by either purchasing an item, donating a
wish list item, donating bottles or even just spreading the word about our
fundraiser. A Big shout out to my Mom, Auntie Cathy and her dad George for
taking time out of their lives to make handmade bone ornaments to sell with
proceeds going to the fundraiser AND THEY DONT EVEN LIVE IN FORT MCMURRAY. As
well as the lady my mom knows and her daughter in BC who made the fleece tied
animal toys from my mom’s scrap fleece and my good friend Nicole Robinson who
held a Zumba fundraiser for me with the proceeds going to our total. My goal
this year was to collect wish list items and sponsor 3 kennels as last year I
only collected wish list items. I thought this was a great goal as sponsoring
the 3 dog kennels alone would cost $600.00.This needs to be written in Caps Locks..WITH ALL OF YOUR HELP WE
WERE ABLE TO SPONSOR NOT 3 KENNELS BUT 7 KENNELS AS WELL AS PURCHASE SOME WISH
LIST ITEMS WITH THE LEFTOVER MONEY. This truly makes my heart melt knowing how
generous the community is. I love Fort McMurray and those who don’t should take
a look around at all of the amazing people we have here who give so much to
those who need it.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Here is a guest blogger, Cindy Romero, who has written an article on service animals I think you will all enjoy. Thanks. Gay

Our
pets are hardworking, and willing to do anything to please us, but can they also
keep us safe? Besides the Seeing Eye dogs we all know and love, there are many
other service animals that keep their masters alive, well, and happy every day.

Mental Health Therapy
Dogs

Let’s start with what most people commonly express about
their pets: they are therapeutic for their mental health. My pets know when I’m
sad, and they do try to cheer me up whether it’s snuggles from my cats or
energetic kisses from my dogs (my bunny remains adorably oblivious but that’s
okay). Our pets
can say so much about us and can also be a very therapeutic part of our
lives. Among the different types of animals we keep as pets, dogs seem to be
best at helping us when we need them most. Among those that are so appreciated is the certified
psychiatric service dog.

Besides helping autistic children with emotional, social,
and communication skills, dogs are also great for people with depression and
anxiety disorders, as well as those with developmental disorders. The
unconditional love and dependency of a dog can boost a person’s mood more than
anyone would think. According
to MentalHealthDogs.org, the many benefits of specifically-trained-for-you
therapy dogs include the following:

·Increased sense of security, self-ability,
self-esteem, and well-being and purpose

·Relief from loneliness and isolation

·Structure and healthy habits

·Optimism

·Uncomplicated, dependable, and safe relationship

·Motivation to exercise and interact socially

Even if someone doesn’t have a trained mental health service
dog, snuggling with his or her pet helps lower the hormone, cortisol, a stress
hormone urging to engage in either fight or flight. And lowering one’s cortisol level is always
beneficial.

Diabetic Alert Dogs

These therapy dogs can quickly alert diabetics to the severe
spikes or drops in their insulin levels, some of which can be life-threatening.
The
Wall Street Journal suggest that the dog’s acute sense of smell, its
accuracy and speed for detecting low blood sugar does a better job of detecting
impending a diabetic crisis than do many medical devices. Scientists don’t know what it is the animal
can detect, but these dogs (retrievers, generally) smell it. Once alerted by his or her canine friend, a diabetic
can then take steps to manage their blood glucose levels, which can save a life
and prevent serious complications.

Seizure Alert Dogs

Similar to the diabetic alert dogs, these dogs are trained
to warn their caretakers of an on-coming seizure. How
Stuff Works maintains that animals are highly sensitive to subtle physical
and biological signals that humans don’t notice. Assigned to those with
epilepsy, a dog can tell when the seizure is on its way and will warn the human
by pawing, barking or circling and trying to get the person to lie down in a
safe place. The dog will then lie beside or on top of the person to make him or
her feel safe and prevent them from injuring themselves. How loving and
responsible is that?

Other uses:

Reading therapy dogs and even school counselor assistance
cats and dogs are also helpful in the classroom setting, making children more
comfortable and less aggressive toward others (for more information on therapy
animals, click here).

Animals provide a heartfelt and enthusiastic service to so
many appreciative people.

January
29th is Seeing Eye dog day. Celebrate all service animals on this
day, and let your animals cheer you up a
little bit more for an extra treat.

I’m Cindy Romero a writer on all things pets. I have
a high jumping cat (Sebastiana), a beautiful black lab (Shadow), a calming
retriever-lab (Teddy) and a feisty Himalayan bunny (Ruby) that all roam around
the house.

Followers

About Me

Animals are my life. Today, living with my twenty-something house and barn cats, my four horses, six pot-bellied pigs, and the wild animls passing our home during the night,I write about my adventures with animals. Never is there a dull moment with my animal crew.
When, many years ago, I was helping my ex-husband deliver a buffalo calf during a blizzard, I was nearly run over by a buffalo and leaped into a snowdrift where I floundered up to the waist. That moment I decided that people would love to read about my adventures tending animals in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
My goal is to entertain my readers, regard their advice, better the welfare of domestic and farm and wild animals through my writing and experiences.
I hope all my friends and readers will come to cherish spending time with animals and appreciating the calm, the honesty, and the comedy that resides naturally within them.